1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to coin handling apparatuses which can be built into vending machines and so forth, and which discriminate between deposited coins and retain acceptable coins.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional coin handling apparatus is constructed of, for example, a coin discriminating device 1, a plurality of coin retaining tubes 2, 3, 4 and 5 and auxiliary coin retaining tubes 6 and 7 as shown in FIGS. 6, 7A and 7B (as disclosed for example in Japanese Utility Model Publication SHO 60-44162). Coin discriminating device 1 has a coin inlet 8 at the upper portion thereof and a plurality of coin outlets 2a, 3a, 4a and 5a and a coin outlet 9 for unacceptable coins (for example, metal slugs or foreign coins) on the bottom surface thereof. In the coin discriminating device 1, coin validation coils 10 determine the authenticity and type of the deposited coins. Coin chute 11 constitutes a coin path for the deposited coins and distrubuting gates 13, 14 and 15 distribute the coins according to their type as determined by the coin validation coils. Coin retaining tubes 2, 3, 4 and 5 retain, for example, ten monetary unit (such as yen or cents, e.g. a dime) coins 16, fifty unit coins 17, one hundred unit coins 18 and five hundred unit coins 19, respectively, and auxiliary coin retaining tubes 6 and 7 can hold a large number of coins for providing change to the customer.
As shown in FIG. 7A, a coin deposited into coin inlet 8 is tested by coin validation coils 10 to determine its authenticity and type during its passage through coin chute 11, and an unacceptable coin (a rejected coin) is returned through coin outlet 9 to a return opening (not shown). An acceptable coin is distributed to a corresponding coin path by distributing gates 13, 14 and 15 and then passes through one of coin outlets 2a, 3a, 4a and 5a and falls into one of coin retaining tubes 2, 3, 4 and 5.
In such a conventional apparatus, however, since all of coin outlets 2a, 3a, 4a and 5a and the rejected coin outlet 9 are arranged on the bottom surface of coin discriminating device 1, the width W.sub.1 of the coin discriminating device cannot be significantly decreased. Although it might seem possible to arrange the coin outlets in two lines on the bottom surface in order to decrease the width W.sub.1, in such case it is technically difficult to position the coin paths from distributing gates 13, 14 and 15 to coin outlets 2a, 3a, 4a and 5a without interfering with each other in discriminating device 1 and also to position coin paths from the coin outlets to coin retaining tubes 2, 3, 4 and 5 without interfering with each other.
One such coin handling apparatus has an overflow switching mechanism switching a coin path communicating with a coin retaining tube to an overflow coin path communicating with a cash box when the coin retaining tube is filled with coins. For example, JP-A-61-237190 and JP-A-52-43497 disclose such a type of coin handling apparatus, and each of the apparatuses disclosed in these publications has a coin discriminating device at the upper portion thereof and coin retaining tubes at the lower portion thereof.
The apparatus disclosed in the former publication has four gates as coin distributing means, and a deposited coin is distributed to a rejected coin path, one of the acceptable coin paths or an overflow coin path communicating with a cash box by operation of the four gates according to the combination of the opening or closing of the gates. The apparatus disclosed in the latter publication has three gates distributing unacceptable coins and acceptable coins and overflow sensors attached to the respective coin retaining tubes. When one of the coin retaining tubes is filled with coins, the overflow sensor detects this condition and the coin path to the coin retaining tube is switched by the operation of the gates to a coin path communicating with a cash box.
In the apparatus disclosed in JP-A-61-237190, however, since four gates and four solenoids driving the gates are required and the distributing means distributing the overflow coins to the overflow coin path communicating with a cash box is disposed in the coins discriminating device, there is a limit to which the width of the coin discriminating device can be decreased. In the apparatus disclosed in JP-A-52-43497, since the gate distributing the overflow coins to the overflow path communicating with a cash box is provided in the coin discriminating device and the coin path downstream of the above distributing gate is also formed in the coin discriminating device, there is also unsatisfactory limit to which the width of the coin discriminating device can be decreased.